


Soaked in the Snow

by DeadMilitia



Category: Pierce the Veil
Genre: Bullying, Help, Other, Shyness, Snow, Winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-28
Updated: 2018-11-28
Packaged: 2019-09-01 19:54:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16771801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeadMilitia/pseuds/DeadMilitia
Summary: After Tony falls into some water, Mike is there to keep Tony from getting hypothermia.





	Soaked in the Snow

**Author's Note:**

> Just putting it out there that I know nothing about public schools. I just know that in my area schools just started charging for students to use school buses. The fee is like $475 for the first student and $405 for every additional kid in the family. I don't know if all schools do that. It's something new around here. Also, since I don't have access to WiFi right now, this is being uploaded from my phone. Hopefully there won't be too many mistakes

Tony listened as the teacher dragged on. He kept glancing at the clock. It seemed like the last five minutes of school had already lasted an hour. He was always nervous about leaving school. Every day it was the same thing. School would end and his three tormentors would corner him somewhere along his path home. He had thought about taking a different way home or paying another student to drive him. It was cold and he didn't feel like walking the long way home. He tried to think of someone who he wouldn't feel bad asking for a ride from, but he felt like a burden when he asked favors. 

By the time the bell rang, Tony's heart was racing. He went to his locker, knowing his bullies wouldn't bother him in a crowded hallway. He considered taking the long way home again which had him basically walk completely around and circle back to his house from the opposite direction of the school. His locker was close enough to the doors that he could see it had started snowing harder than it had all day. He internally groaned. He knew it would be a cold, miserable walk home but he didn't feel like getting beat up today. After he finished at his locker, he zipped up his black coat and put the hood up before heading out the door. 

It was still just as cold as when he got to school and he debated taking his normal route home. His ribs still hurt from yesterday's beating and he didn't want to add to the pain. He crossed the road and started down the sidewalk across from the school. He figured he could cut through the park and save a few minutes of his walk. It was too cold to stick to the sidewalk the whole way. Plus, the snow was getting heavier. Tony wished that he could afford his own car or that his mom got off work early enough to pick him up. His mom couldn't afford for both him and his sister to ride the bus. She could barely afford for one of them to ride the bus. She had tried to work out different arrangements since she felt it was unfair for one child to be brought home and the other to have to walk. But Tony had assured her that he would be fine and felt more comfortable being positive that his little sister had a safe way home. It wasn't that long of a walk anyway. When his dad had died and they moved to a smaller house, they were lucky to find one close to the school which was what his mom had wanted. 

Tony pulled his hood closer to his face. He was shaking and wished he hadn't forgotten his gloves that morning. When he turned down Oak Street he was happy to be close to the park. He wanted to cut through the middle of the park, near the pond since that would put him almost directly on the other side of his house. It was still a long walk through the park. He looked behind him and saw a someone walking towards him. His anxiety spiked and he sped up his pace. He couldn't really make out who the person was other than they were male. He was worried it was one of his bullies who had seen him take the different route and decided to follow him. 

He heard his phone buzzing in his backpack and tried to dig it out. He slowed down his pace in order to find his phone. He finally found it and answered it. 

"Tony? Are you home yet?" His mom asked, the noise of the busy restaurant behind her. 

"Uh, not yet. I'm almost there though." He answered, knowing he was still twenty minutes from the house. He looked over his shoulder again and while he had been looking for his phone, the person behind him had gotten closer. Clearly walking faster. Now that he was closer Tony could tell who it was. It wasn't one of his bullies but it wasn't someone he liked seeing either. It was Mike Fuentes. He had never personally had problems with the tall boy but he had heard rumors of how cruel Mike was when you got in his way. 

"Alright, please be careful. It's really coming down out there." His mom said and he could hear the guilt in her voice. Anytime the weather was bad she always felt guilty. Tony tried to reassure her every time that he could handle it. If the weather was too bad his mom would call her sister and have her pick Tony up. His aunt lived thirty minutes away and Tony hated her having to drive all the way out just to get him. 

"I will, Mom. I always am, aren't I? I love you." He said, hoping his calm tone would help her calm down. 

"I love you, honey. I'll be home a little late today. There's some frozen pizzas in the freezer. Just put those in the oven whenever you two get hungry. I'll eat here." She told him. Tony could hear her moving around, getting back to work. 

"Alright, I'll see you later." Tony told her, she said bye to him before hanging up. He looked back and noticed that Mike had gotten even closer to him. He sped up again, looking to his left to see how close to the end of the pond he was. It ran along side the sidewalk with a small grassy area separating them. He was close enough to the end that he decided to go ahead and get off of the path. He didn't want to be too close if Mike walked near him. 

The accumulated snow hide the grass from view. There was a thin sheet of ice over the top of the pond. Tony was just ready to be home. His fingers and cheeks were hurting from how cold they were and his shoes were starting to get wet since they weren't built for snow. He knew he had to get home before he lost any fingers or toes. He looked over his shoulder again and saw that Mike was watching him. Tony quickly averted his eyes. In his attempt to get home faster by walking quicker, he underestimated how slick the snow covered grass was. He lost his footing and slid. He was walking too close to the pond that when he fell, he went forward into the freezing water, breaking the thin ice on top. 

His breathing turned to panting at the shock to his system. He was already freezing and now he was soaked. He was sure to get hypothermia now. He was too far from home to walk soaking wet but he had no choice. He carefully got himself up and out of the water. 

"Are you okay?" He heard someone say, making him whip his head to the side. He saw Mike standing there, looking concerned. 

"I-I'm fine," he answered through chattering teeth. 

"You can't stay out here long. You'll freeze to death, literally. I live just three houses up from here. You can get dried off and my brother can drive you home." Mike said, taking off his heavy coat to offer to Tony. 

"Thank you but I'll be fine," he stuttered out, crossing his arms over his chest. It did little to help him keep from the cold. 

"I wasn't giving you a choice. Come on, the longer we stand here, the closer to death you get." Mike said, moving closer to wrap his coat around Tony after taking his backpack from him. He took Tony's arm gently and helped him out of the snow and back on to the sidewalk. Mike walked faster, basically dragging Tony along with him. 

"I really am fine. I don't want to bother you." Tony said, shaking violently as he tried to keep up. It took no time for them to reach Mike's house. 

"I'm not gonna let you walk home while soaking wet." Mike told him, getting his key out with one hand and holding on to Tony with his other. It was like he thought the younger boy would try to run if he let him go. Tony didn't want to go into Mike's house. He didn't know Mike and from what he had heard, Mike wasn't the type of person he wanted to get to know. Mike dragged Tony into the house and shut the door behind them before locking it back. Tony felt relief when the warmth of the house hit his freezing body. There was a smaller guy with long hair sitting on the couch eating potato chips from a bowl and watching TV. He seemed a bit surprised when he saw Tony. 

"What happened?" The guy asked, looking between the two. Mike finally let go of Tony who stayed near the door. His eyes stayed down, not wanting to stare at either of them. If Mike was as cruel as everyone says than he imagined his brother was similar to him. Both seemed intimidating to the shy boy. He listened quietly as Mike explained to his brother what happened. Tony stayed where he was as Mike went off into a different room. He came back a minute later with sweats. 

"You'll have to go commando until your clothes are dry. I figured you didn't want to borrow a stranger's underwear." Mike said with a smirk as he came back. 

"If he's wearing your sweat pants, why does it matter? His junk is going to be against the fabric anyway. Is that really that different?" Mike's brother asked with a chuckle. Mike rolled his eyes and handed Tony the clothes. 

"Shut up," Mike said with a chuckle. "I'm talking about him. I don't give a shit either way." Tony stood there awkwardly. 

"You can change in my room." Mike said, pointing to the room he had come from. Tony couldn't get his legs to move. He was so scared. So far, Mike had only been nice to him but he had heard too many rumors. "Or you can change right there. I don't really care. We'll even turn around. Unless you want to give me a show for saving your life." Mike smirked at Tony whose face went bright red from embarrassment. 

"Mike, don't scare him," the brother warned, playfully smacking Mike's arm. "You can change in the bathroom if that makes you more comfortable." He pointed to the bathroom and Tony felt more comfortable with that. He shakily went to the bathroom. He kept looking over at the two to make sure they stayed where they were. Once he was in the bathroom, he locked the door. He took off Mike's now damp coat. He was removing his wet clothes when there was a knock on the door that made him jump. 

"You can use a towel if you need to. They're in the cabinet above the toilet." He heard Mike say. He couldn't bring himself to say anything in response. He didn't feel that he was wet enough to worry about drying off. He set his wet clothes in the sink to keep from getting the floor wet. He changed into the clothes the Mike had given him. It was a pair of grey sweat pants and a plain, black t-shirt. He unlocked the door and peeked out to see Mike and his brother on the couch. 

"All done?" Mike asked, to which Tony nodded yes. "I'll throw your wet clothes in the dryer." He went to the bathroom, making Tony back farther into the room. He still didn't trust Mike. He figured that Mike had been joking about repaying him for the help but he didn't want to let his guard down just in case. 

"You can come in here," Mike's brother told him gently. He seemed to realize how frightened and shy Tony was. The younger boy slowly walked out of the bathroom and into the living room. "I'm Vic, by the way." 

"T-Tony," he replied quietly. He stood to the side awkwardly as Rick and Morty played on the TV. 

"Come here," Mike told Tony when he came back. Tony hesitantly followed Mike into the kitchen. "You like coffee?" Tony nodded his head. He watched as Mike started making a pot of coffee. "You can sit down, ya know." Tony sat down in one of the chairs at the table and watched Mike. He was still afraid of the older boy but part of him said he didn't need to be. 

"I'm Mike but I'm guessing you already know that." He said as he sat down next to Tony. "I know that your Tony. I don't know much about you but I see you around the school. You're friends with Jaime, right?" Tony only nodded his head. 

"I've known Jaime for a long time. His dad is friends with our dad. Did you know that I was friends with him?" Tony shook his head no, still not trusting Mike enough to talk to him. Mike kept trying to make small talk until the coffee was done. He made Tony a cup, asking him if he wanted sugar or milk and only getting head nods in response. After both of them had a cup of coffee and Mike was sitting back down, he tried to make conversation again. He finally sighed and set his cup down, making Tony nervous that he had upset Mike somehow. 

"Look, I know what people at school say about me but I'm not what you think I am. Those rumors are just that, rumors. I'm not a mean, cruel person like everyone thinks. What started that was some bullies picking on me and I decided I wasn't going to be the victim anymore. Ever since I got back at them, I've been labeled this horrible person. It's easier to keep up the cruel, bad-ass image than to let people think they can mess with me again. I'm not actually an asshole. And I've never hurt someone who didn't deserve it." Mike told him. Tony stared at his coffee as he processed what Mike had said. 

"H-How did you get back at them?" He finally asked, thinking about his own bullies. He knew he would never have the courage or strength to fight off his bullies. 

"Let's just say, I made their lives hell until they left me alone. You don't need the details." Mike explained, taking a sip of his coffee. 

"Oh," Tony said, looking down again.

"You don't have to be afraid of me." Mike told him with a smirk. 

"Yeah, once you get to know him he's about as intimidating as Winnie-The-Pooh." Vic said with a chuckle as he came into the room. Mike stuck his tongue out at his brother. Tony tried to hide his smile with with his cup. 

"Wh-Where is my backpack?" Tony asked, realizing he hadn't seen what Mike did with it. 

"In my room, I'll grab it." Mike said, standing up to get it. "It's a little wet but it seems to have avoided most of the water." He handed it to Tony who unzipped it to look for his phone. 

"I have to check on my sister." Tony said, hitting his sister's contact and holding the phone to his ear. 

"Danielle? Are you alright?" He asked when his sister answered. 

"Yeah, where are you?" She asked, sounding a bit worried. 

"I, uh, had some problems because of the weather. I'll be home soon though, okay?" She started to say something but the call dropped. "Danielle? Hello?" He pulled the phone away from his ear.

"Is she okay?" Mike asked, looking down at Tony's phone. 

"Yeah, the call dropped. My phone signal hates bad weather." Tony explained, seeing that his signal wasn't coming back in. 

"It's really coming down out there. You might have to stay here until it clears up." Vic said, looking out the kitchen window at the quickly falling snow. Tony's eyes widened a little as he looked at the window then back at Vic. 

"I-I can't stay here. My mom doesn't like my sister being home alone." Tony said. 

"How old is she?" Vic asked, seeming to think about whether it was worth risking the drive. 

"She's thirteen," Tony answered, checking to see if he had signal. 

"Well, that's old enough to stay alone for a little while, right? You can use my phone to call her and she can call it if she needs you." Vic said, digging his phone from his pocket. 

"I guess that's okay. Can I also call my mom to let her know where I am?" Vic nodded, handing the phone to Tony. The younger boy went to the living room to call his sister and mom to let them know where he was and that he would be home as soon as the snow let up. 

"Well, I guess we could watch a movie. According to the weather, it's supposed to clear out by five." Mike said when Tony came back. He had his phone in his hand and Vic was looking over his shoulder. "You two pick something out, I'm gonna check on the dryer." Tony awkwardly followed Vic into the living room while Mike went to the laundry room. Vic flopped down on the couch and picked up the remote. Tony was sure he was invited to sit down from the suggestion of a movie but he stayed where he was and played with the hem of his shirt. 

"You don't have to be shy, Tony. You can sit down." Vic told him with an amused smile. Tony sat in the chair near the couch so he wouldn't have to sit next to the two brothers. Mike came back with Tony's clothes folded in his hands. 

"They're dry," he announced, handing them to Tony who thanked him quietly. He stayed where he was and stared down at his clothes. He wanted to go change but was he was too nervous to stand up. He knew it was ridiculous but doing anything around new people was difficult for him. "You can change in the bathroom or my room." Tony's heart was pounding as he stood up and went to the bathroom. He quickly changed, looking around for a clothes hamper but he didn't see one. 

"Um, I don't know what to do with these." Tony said after he came out of the bathroom. Mike's clothes in his hands. Mike stood up and took the clothes from him, taking them to the laundry room. Tony sat back in the chair and stared at the TV, not recognizing the movie they had picked. Mike came back and sat on the couch beside Vic. They were both slouched down with their knees spread as they stared at the TV. Tony checked his phone to see if he had gotten signal back yet but he hadn't. He figured it wouldn't come back until the snow storm had passed. 

\---------------------------

Tony listened Mike and Vic joke with each other and he laughed along with them. He was always happy to sit and watch people rather than participate so he was glad they weren't trying to drag him into their play argument. They were passing ridiculous insults that made all three of them laugh. Their movie had ended and now they just had it on Adventure Time. 

"Oh, hey, the snow has slowed down." Vic pointed out, looking out the window. Tony was kinda sad that he had to go home now. He was actually having fun since he relaxed a little and started to trust the two brothers. He wondered if this would be the only time he would get to see the two. Sure, he'd see Mike around school but since Mike was older they didn't see each other often. 

"I wonder if they're plowing the roads yet?" Mike asked, staring out the window. 

"We'll wait a while until they get the streets plowed. It's too dangerous to drive right now." Vic said, turning his attention back to the show. It wasn't long until the plow truck was going past the house. Tony knew they would have his road cleared off too. 

"Where do you live, Tony?" Vic asked, turning his attention to the younger of the three. 

"Um, I just live over on Muncie," Tony answered, motioning in the direction he lived. 

"Oh, that's close, we're probably safe to get heading that way." Vic said before standing up. "I had to park on the road because I wasn't sure I could get in the driveway when I got home." Tony stood up and made sure he had all of his stuff before pulling on and zipping up his coat. Vic and Mike both were putting their coats on. 

"Alright, let's go," Vic said as he grabbed his keys off of the hook by the door. All three made their way to Vic's car. Vic and Mike sat in the front and Tony sat in the back. Vic drove slow, being cautious of the roads. When they got on Tony's street he told Vic how far down he lived. 

"If you live on this street, why were you on ours? It's pretty much a straight shot to the school and would have been much faster to come down this road." Mike asked, looking at Tony in the back seat. 

"Oh, um," Tony wasn't sure what to say. Mike had told him that he used to get bullied so he felt he was safe telling the two his own issue with it. But part of him was ashamed to be their target every day. "I was, um, a-avoiding some, um, guys." 

"Why were you avoiding them?" Vic asked, sounding like he knew the answer. 

"They use me as their punching bag." Tony answered quietly. 

"Do they live on this street, too?" Mike asked. 

"No, they just like to wait for me away from the school. They don't want to risk getting caught again." Tony felt embarrassed by all of this. He should be able to stand up for himself. He knew it was pathetic that he was allowing this to go on this long and had no plans of stopping it. He didn't want to start anything with the guys and he knew if he told they would be mad. 

"So they go out of their way just to mess with you?" Vic asked, sounding a bit angry. 

"I-I guess," Tony shrugged, staring at his lap. 

"That's fucked up," Mike stated. "You can't let them continue." 

"I don't have a choice," Tony mumbled. 

"Sure you do. I thought I didn't have a choice either. But then after giving them a taste of their own medicine, they backed off. Just hit 'em back," Mike told him. 

"I-I'm not really the fighting type," Tony told him. He could only imagine what would happen if he hit one of them. "Besides, it would be three against one. I don't think I have a great chance." 

"You should tell your parents you don't want to walk home anymore." Vic told him, looking in the rearview mirror. Tony pointed out his house since they were within view. 

"My mom can't afford for both my sister and I to ride the bus and there isn't anyone else to pick me up." Tony said as Vic pulled up in front of his house. 

"How about I start driving you home? I usually pick up Mike anyway. I didn't today because he said he had a ride." Vic said, glancing over at his brother. 

"I told you, he had an emergency and couldn't. I didn't want to make you get back out when I could just walk home." Mike told him. 

"I-I don't want to make you go out of your way just to bring me home." Tony told him. 

"Tony, you literally live, like, five minutes from us. I could just come home this way and drop you off." Vic said with an amused smile. 

"Here, I'll give you our numbers and we can discuss it." Mike said, digging in Vic's glove box for a piece of scrap paper and a pen. He quickly jotted down his number along with Vic's before handing the paper to Tony. 

"Th-Thank you," Tony said. "And thank you for helping me." Mike smiled at him kindly. 

"No problem. I couldn't just let you freeze. I'm not that type of person, even if the school rumors say I am." Mike told him. They said their goodbyes and Tony climbed out of the car. He dug his key out of his bag. Vic and Mike waited until Tony was inside before driving away. Tony was happy to get inside the warm house. He didn't see his sister so he went to check that she was in her room. He knocked but didn't get a response so he opened the door and stuck his head in to see her on her bed with earbuds in and doing her homework. He quietly shut the door so he didn't frighten her before going to the kitchen to put the pizzas in the oven.

**Author's Note:**

> Hopefully that wasn't too bad. It's been a while since I wrote for PTV so I'm a little rusty. Also, they obviously don't live in California in this. I got the idea for this from chapter 17 of Legacy which is the second book in the Night School series. It's a great series if you've never read it. Unfortunately, I only have the first two books since I can't afford the rest right now. This wasn't anything like what happened in the book but reading that sparked this idea. Also, I really hope there wasn't too many errors.


End file.
